Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli continued his impressive form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season as he scored a quickfire 49 off 34 balls against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The knock helped him outscore his opponents and win the Orange Cap as the leading scorer after five games.
Virat Kohli’s performance in RCB vs LSG match
Virat Kohli came in during the chase and played with his typical class, smashing six boundaries and one six at 144.12. The 37-year-old was eventually dismissed by Avesh Khan, but his contribution boosted RCB’s batting momentum. In the match, RCB secured a comfortable win by , further strengthening their position in the points table.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru veteran Virat Kohli won the Orange Cap with a fighting 49 off 34 balls in the IPL 2026 clash against Lucknow Super Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB chased down 147 with ease, winning by 5 wickets and 29 balls, but Kohli’s post-match words revealed the personal challenges he is overcoming.
Kohli, who came in as an Impact Player, fell short of his fifty when he was caught by Nicholas Pooran off Avesh Khan. Despite the disappointment of not finishing the game, he sounded positive about his intensity on the tricky surface.
Virat Kohli reveals health update
In his post-match interaction, Virat Kohli was candid about his condition. He said: “Much better than the last game. I’m still not 100%. I had a bit of knee pain in the last game. I’ve also been under the weather for four or five days health-wise. So I’m back to my best. I started well today so I was happy with my intensity. Again, I’d like to go on and finish the game.”
He explained how big a role the pitch played in his approach. “Yeah, it was slower than normal. If you saw, there wasn’t enough grass on it. The last 3-4 days have been very, very hot. It’s also been very dry. So we thought it would be a dry, slow wicket…the idea was to push the game away from the opposition and take the game away from them in the first five sixes, I say the powerplay was important when I came up to bat. I managed to put the team in front today.”
Virat Kohli has claimed the Orange Cap
This knock took Virat Kohli to 228 runs in five matches in IPL 2026 at an average of 57.00 and a strike rate of 158.33. He now leads the Orange Cap race ahead of Heinrich Klaasen (224 runs) and teammate Rajat Patidar (222 runs). He has already scored two half-centuries and has hit 25 fours along with eight sixes.
Orange Cap: List of top 5 players after RCB vs LSG match
1. Virat Kohli (RCB): 228 runs in 5 matches, Avg 57.00, SR 158.33, HS 69*
2. Heinrich Klaasen (SRH): 224 runs in 5 matches, Avg 44.80, SR 142.67, HS 62
3. Rajat Patidar (RCB): 222 runs in 5 matches, Avg 55.50, SR 213.46, HS 63
4. Ishan Kishan (SRH): 213 runs in 5 matches, Avg 42.60, SR 190.17, HS 91
5. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR): 200 runs in 5 matches, Avg 40.00, SR 263.15, HS 76
